Michigan Nursing Home Wandering & Elopement Lawyers

Our Michigan nursing home lawyers at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. handle cases involving wandering patients and elopement in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living centers in Michigan. Wandering can be a safe and healthy behavior for some nursing home residents, especially when it involves wandering through the hallways to reduce stress, for exercise, or for activity. Many residents are encouraged to wander inside the nursing home for those purposes.

However, wandering can become very dangerous and even deadly when a patient wanders or elopes away from the nursing home. Elopement occurs when a resident successfully leaves the nursing facility undetected and unsupervised and enters into harm’s way. When a patient elopes or wanders from a nursing home and is injured or dies, it can give rise to a claim for nursing home neglect. A wandering resident or patient who elopes from the nursing home does have legal rights under Michigan law.

Factors For Resident Wandering and Elopement in Michigan Nursing Homes

Several factors contribute to both wandering patients and elopement. These include:

Agitation, anxiety, boredom, or stress

Disorientation to surroundings

Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease affecting judgement

Past patterns of the resident

Elopement and wandering away from the facility often occurs frequently in the first few weeks after a resident is initially placed into a facility. This is often attributed to the change in settings and the desire to return back home. Monitoring by the nursing home staff during this initial period is essential to prevent resident elopement.

Claims for Resident Wandering and Elopement in Michigan Nursing Homes

Nursing home staff must properly asses a resident for the potential risk of elopement based upon factors noted above. The nursing home must have an elopement plan for high risk residents including methods for assessing risks, individual treatment plans to prevent wandering, and staff training to ensure all team members observe the best practices for safety. The physical facility will also be built with safe elopement prevention in mind, including security locks on all key doors, secure elevators and monitoring equipment, and door alarms.

Our experienced Michigan nursing home lawyers represent residents and their families in lawsuits involving wandering and elopement. A patient who wanders or elopes from a facility due to improper security or under qualified staff is a victim of nursing home neglect. One who suffers unnecessary sedation or restraint, or threats from staff is a victim of nursing home neglect. In either case, facilities not held responsible for their dangerous choices will continue to harm elderly patients until they are legally accountable. These lawsuits seek compensation for the resident and the family for the injuries suffered. They also serve to prevent such a tragedy from happening to another resident in the future. When a resident dies from their elopement, we file a Michigan Wrongful Death lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family members.

If a loved one has wandered or eloped from a Michigan nursing home, call our office now at (800) 606-1717to speak with one of our experienced nursing home neglect lawyers. We will start working on your case immediately and gather the necessary evidence to prove and win your case. We will also get you the real answers as to what happened and how it happened.

We have a top track record of successful settlements and verdicts in nursing home neglect cases in Michigan and we can do the same for you. We will represent you under our No Fee Promise, which means there are no legal fees or costs until you win a settlement. Call now!

Do you have a Michigan nursing home wandering and elopement injury case?

We are Michigan nursing home lawyers who represent neglect and abuse residents in in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Bay City, Dearborn, Detroit, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Midland, Monroe, Mount Clements, Muskegon, Novi, Pontiac, Port Huron, Royal Oak, Saginaw, St. Clair Shores, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Taylor, Troy, Utica, Warren, Ypsilanti, ,Allegan County, Bay County, Calhoun County, Cass County, Eaton County, Genesee County, Huron County, Ingham County, Jackson County, Kalamazoo County, Kent County, Lapeer County, Lenawee County, Livingston County, Macomb County, Muskegon County, Monroe County, Oakland County, Shiawassee County, St. Clair County, Washtenaw County, Wayne County, Wexford County and all Michigan cities and counties.